Many of us already feel it.
The weight of global instability through our newsfeeds every hour of every day is overwhelming.
Whether it’s the unfurling war in the Middle East, images from the front line in Ukraine, or the spectre of a civil war in the United States, it’s understandable why so many Aussies are feeling a little stressed out.
This has been theorised as to why an increasing number of travellers are seeking out wellness retreats and deeper human connection on trips, the frazzled minds of the masses desperately seeking a way to hit the reset button and return the gears to neutral.
While finding a relaxing holiday spot and unwinding in serenity would appear to be a natural remedy to such global chaos, others are dealing with the tension very differently.
Recent data trends suggest dark tourism is on the rise, the form of visitation which specialises in bringing travellers up close and personal to areas associated with death, oppression or tragedy.
This could include a trip to Ground Zero at the site of the former World Trade Centre twin towers, the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park in Japan, or a visit to the Killing Fields in Cambodia to reflect on the more than a million people who were killed during the time of the Khmer Rouge.
Reflexively one wonders how there could be a rise in this mode of tourism when so many people are already filled to the brim with incessant digital updates documenting human tragedy.
However, I must confess that on deeper psychological reflection this week, the growth in this segment started to make a lot of sense to me.
In my mind, travellers don’t seek out these types of experiences on a whim, nor are they likely to be fulfilling a narrow form of morbid fascination.
Many might be doing so because in some vicarious way, it helps to deal with our collective anxiety and grief.
It can be healing to mourn on a communal level, and I’d suggest as humans faced with greater disconnection in a fragmenting world, coming together at locations of human tragedy can be oddly cathartic.
Sitting adjacent to the rise in dark tourism is a spike in interest for tours to countries that many western travellers may have historically viewed as ‘no-go zones’.
Speaking with travelBulletin recently about this growing interest, Forward Travel founder David Smyth believes social media has done much to buck mainstream media views about less-trodden tourist destinations, such as Iraq and Sierra-Leone.
“Mainstream media often casts certain destinations in negative ways, leading the public to perceive in ways that are hard to undo,” Smyth explains.
“This portrayal is frequently influenced by government advice, which can reinforce fears and misconceptions about these places, and as a result, even after a war ends or political instability subsides, a country’s reputation can remain stained, with ongoing doubts and fears about its stability and safety.
“This lasting perception leads many to overlook the fact that a nation’s history of conflict or dictatorship does not define its people.”
Reflecting on the rise in interest from Aussies, Smyth adds that many are being drawn to these destinations to experience the aftermath of conflict, as well as gain a deeper understanding of the history, culture, and resilience of the local inhabitants.
“With many regions of the world suffering from overtourism, these once forbidden destinations offer an authentic and adventurous experience, appealing to those seeking off-the-beaten-path travel,” he believes.
“Cultural and heritage tourism is another factor, as war leaves behind museums, memorials, and battle sites that attract those interested in history and education.”
Through Forward Travel for example, travellers can embark on a combined Iraq and Kurdistan tour, taking in the historical richness of palaces once occupied by dictators, and the remnants of bloody battlefields.
“I had the opportunity to visit Iraq in August 2023, and the experience was truly eye-opening,” Smyth says.
“What I noticed was [the country] is genuinely eager to showcase the beauty, history and its rich culture, challenging the often-negative image portrayed by the media.”
“The country is well-policed and there’s a strong sense of security as Iraq is keen to open up to tourists and share its story with the world – they are in no hurry to return to the dictatorship or war of past.”
Smyth also revealed the demographic sweet spot to take such trips are currently people aged from 50 to 70, describing the target market as already “extremely well-travelled and adventurous”.
This week also saw a thawing of North Korean borders to tourists, a development which filled Crooked Compass founder, Lisa Pagotto, with hope the secretive destination will once again be open to Aussie travellers within the next 12 months.
Speaking with travelBulletin after news broke of a pilot scheme for Chinese operators to run tours to the northern city of Samjiyon, Pagotto was confident the trial will result in North Korea opening up fully again to tourists.
In Australia, there is also no shortage of interest from the market to see how people live under an austere regime in the rogue state.
“A lot of [our customers] have put down fully refundable deposits so they can be first to depart,” Pagotto reveals.
“In 2019, we ran at full capacity, and in 2020 we had full capacity before being cancelled, and in terms of our wait list, our maximum group tours are 12 people, and we have enough to fill nearly five tours.”
The Crooked Compass founder confirmed her company has departures listed on its website for country-wide North Korea itineraries from April 2025, however, she conceded they will likely need to be pushed back in line with a strictly controlled relaunch of the country’s tourism sector.
“I don’t think our 2025 April tour will be possible, but we will just shift the dates once we get official opening confirmation about when it is possible to do full country tours,” she said, adding that by 2026, she predicts the North Korean market will be back to 2019 normality.
Pagotto stresses that while North Korean trips “are definitely not for everybody”, the country offers travellers unmatched pristine landscapes, as well as a rare opportunity to engage with North Koreans and see how they live.
No doubt some will point out that travelling to destinations like North Korea and Iraq flies in the face of government safety advice, by the same token it’s also an added incentive to ensure that Aussies pondering such trips choose a travel advisor to book through and depart with a specialist tour operator that can take all of the necessary precautions to keep them safe.
While our news feeds are unlikely to be replaced with ubiquitous optimism any time soon, taking a trip to destinations riven with tragedy could well be one important way to nurture our empathy gene and obtain a wider sense of perspective on current events.
I’ve always advocated for learning from history’s mistakes, and even feeling that way I still need to vigorously resist the urge to bury my head in the sand, especially when news stories are confronting, uncomfortable, or damn Title: Dark Tourism: A Growing Phenomenon In today’s society, there is an undeniable rise in the popularity of dark tourism. This trend reflects a growing interest in visiting sites associated with tragedy, death, and historical atrocities. Despite the discomfort and unease that upsetting.
I view travel the same way.
Only by confronting history can we truly understand and absorb the complexity of human morality, and there is no more authentic way to do that, than to travel to the places these dark chapters of history were written.
